System and method for designing data structures

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for designing data structures are provided. In one embodiment, an asynchronous first-in-first-out (FIFO) data structure may include, for example, a FIFO memory having a depth d in which d is an integer and a code generator coupled to the FIFO memory. The code generator may provide, for example, a first code sequence of length 2d. The first code sequence may have a circular property and a Hamming length of one for any two consecutive codes of the first code sequence. The first code sequence may be generated from a second code sequence by removing one or more pairs of mirrored codes of the second code sequence.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

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FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

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MICROFICHE/COPYRIGHT REFERENCE

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BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

First-in-first-out (FIFO) data structures have been employed in myriadof applications including, for example, very large scale integration(VLSI). Generally, FIFO data structures may be broadly classified aseither synchronous or asynchronous.

A synchronous FIFO data structure may be, for example, a FIFO datastructure in which a single clock controls the write port and the readport of the FIFO data structure. A typical objective of the synchronousFIFO design is to provide a mechanism for buffering data andsubsequently evacuating the buffered data in the order of arrival.

An asynchronous FIFO data structure may be, for example, a FIFO datastructure in which a first clock is used to control the write port and asecond clock is used to control the read port of the FIFO datastructure. The first clock and the second clock may have completelyarbitrary phase relationships. In addition to acting as a buffer, theasynchronous FIFO design has been used as a mechanism that reliablytransfers data across asynchronous clock domains.

Conventional asynchronous FIFO data structures may be designed fordepths of 2^(n) in which n is an integer. However, being restricted tosuch depths may be the source of a number of inefficiencies. Forexample, if an application may be optimized for a FIFO depth of 9, thenthe use of a FIFO data structure with a depth of 2⁴ (i.e., 16) would notfully use all of the available buffer space and would needlessly consumevaluable real estate on a printed circuit board or an integrated system(e.g., an integrated chip). The excessive FIFO data structure design mayalso disrupt stringent fan-out constraints on clock and data signals.

Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditionalapproaches will become apparent to one of ordinary skill in the artthrough comparison of such systems with at least some aspects of thepresent invention as set forth in the remainder of the presentapplication with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Aspects of the present invention may be found in, for example, systemsand methods for designing data structures. In one embodiment, thepresent invention may provide an asynchronous first-in-first-out (FIFO)data structure. The data structure may include, for example, a FIFOmemory having a depth d in which d is an integer, and a code generatorcoupled to the FIFO memory. The code generator may provide, for example,a first code sequence of length 2d. The first code sequence may have acircular property and a Hamming length of one for any two consecutivecodes of the first code sequence. The first code sequence may begenerated from a second code sequence by removing one or more pairs ofmirrored codes of the second code sequence.

In another embodiment, aspects of the present invention may be found ina method for designing an asynchronous data structure. The method mayinclude, for example, one or more of the following: writing data to andreading data from a memory of depth d in which d is not equal to a value2^(n) and in which d and n are integers; reducing a first Gray-codesequence of length 2^(n) into a second Gray-code sequence of length 2dby removing one or more pairs of mirrored Gray-codes from the firstGray-code sequence; and using Gray codes of the second Gray-codesequence as Gray-code write pointers or Gray-code read pointers.

In yet another embodiment, aspects of the present invention may providea method that reduces a Gray-code sequence for use with a data structureof arbitrary depth. The method may include, for example, one or more ofthe following: listing a plurality of codes in a first Gray-codesequence; deleting one or more first codes from the first Gray-codesequence; deleting one or more second codes from the first Gray-codesequence, each second code having identical bits as a correspondingfirst code except for a most significant bit; and forming a secondGray-code sequence from remaining codes of the first Gray-code sequence.

In another embodiment, aspects of the present invention may be found ina method for designing an asynchronous data structure. The method mayinclude, for example, one or more of the following: writing data to andreading data from a memory of depth d in which d is not equal to a value2^(n) and in which d and n are integers; reducing a first code sequenceof length 2^(n) into a second code sequence of length 2d by removing oneor more pairs of mirrored codes from the first code sequence; and usingcodes of the second code sequence as code write pointers or code readpointers.

In yet another embodiment, aspects of the present invention may providea method that reduces a code sequence for use with a data structure ofarbitrary depth. The method may include, for example, one or more of thefollowing: listing a plurality of codes in a first code sequence;deleting one or more first codes from the first code sequence; deletingone or more second codes from the first code sequence, each second codehaving identical bits as a corresponding first code except for a mostsignificant bit; and forming a second code sequence from remaining codesof the first code sequence.

These and other features and advantages of the present invention may beappreciated from a review of the following detailed description of thepresent invention, along with the accompanying figures in which likereference numerals refer to like parts throughout.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of anasynchronous first-in-first-out (FIFO) data structure according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process thatgenerates a Gray-code sequence according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a Gray-code sequence according to thepresent invention.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a method for reducing a Gray-code sequenceaccording to the present invention.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of a method for reducing a Gray-codesequence according to the present invention.

FIGS. 6A-B show two more embodiments of a method for reducing aGray-code sequence according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Some aspects of the present invention may be found, for example, insystems and methods for designing data structures such as, for example,first-in-first-out (FIFO) data structures. Some embodiments according tothe present invention may be used with asynchronous FIFO data structuresor synchronous FIFO data structures. The depth of the FIFO datastructures may be arbitrary and need not be limited to depths of 2^(n)in which n is an integer.

Some embodiments according to the present invention may employ, forexample, a Gray-code sequence that has been adapted for use with FIFOdata structures of any arbitrary depth. A mirroring property of Graycode sequences may be used to effectively generate codes that are lessthan 2^(n) in length while still possessing properties suitable for usewith FIFO design (e.g., asynchronous FIFO design).

Some embodiments according to the present invention may employ, forexample, a code sequence that has been adapted for use with FIFO datastructures of any arbitrary depth. The code sequence may becharacterized by one or more properties including, for example, a closedproperty and a Hamming distance of one.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram illustrating an embodiment of anasynchronous FIFO data structure according to the present invention. Theasynchronous FIFO data structure 100 may generally be grouped into awrite clock domain 110 and a read clock domain 120. The write clockdomain 110 may include, for example, a write clock. The read clockdomain 120 may include, for example, a read clock. The write clock andthe read clock need not have a phase relationship or a time relationship(e.g., a period relationship). The clocks may be asynchronous. Inaddition, one or both of the clocks may not be free running.

The write clock domain 110 may include, for example, a Gray-codegenerator 130, a Gray-code write pointer 140, a Gray-to-binary converter150, write clock logic 170 related to generating an empty, full oralmost full signal, and synchronizers 180. The read clock domain 120 mayinclude, for example, a Gray-code generator 190, a Gray-code readpointer 200, a Gray-to-binary converter 210, read clock logic 220related to generating an empty, full or almost full signal andsynchronizers 230.

The asynchronous FIFO data structure 100 may also include, for example,a FIFO RAM 160 that is part of the write clock domain 110 and the readclock domain 120. The FIFO RAM 160 may include inputs such as, forexample, a binary write pointer input, a binary read pointer, a writedata port and a write clock. The FIFO RAM 160 may include an output suchas, for example, a read data port. The FIFO RAM 160 may have a FIFOdepth of any arbitrary depth d in which d is an integer and need not belimited merely to depths of 2^(n) in which n is an integer. In someembodiments, whereas the FIFO depth is d or 2d, the Gray-code sequencelength is 2d.

In operation, according to the write clock in the write clock domain110, a Gray-code write pointer 140 may point to the next Gray-codeaddress to be written. The Gray-to-binary converter 150 may convert theGray code to a binary code WrPtr which points to a particular binaryaddress in the FIFO RAM 160. Write data WRDATA may then be written intothe FIFO RAM 160 at the memory location associated with the binaryaddress WrPtr. After the data is written into the FIFO RAM 160, the Greycount may be incremented according to the Gray-code generator 130. Thelogic 170 may generate an empty signal, a full signal or an almost fullsignal depending upon, for example, a relative state of the read pointerand the write pointer. The synchronizers 180 may be used, for example,to synchronize the Gray-code read pointer into the write clock domain110.

According to the read clock in the read clock domain 120, a Gray-coderead pointer 200 may point to the current Gray-code address to be read.The Gray-to-binary converter 210 may convert the Gray code to a binarycode RdPtr which points to a particular binary address in the FIFO RAM160. Read data RDDATA may then be read out of the FIFO RAM 160 from thememory location associated with the binary address RdPtr. After the datais read out of the FIFO RAM 160, the Gray count may be incrementedaccording to the Gray-code generator 190. The logic 220 may generate anempty signal, a full signal or an almost full signal depending upon, forexample, a relative state of the read pointer and the write pointer. Thesynchronizers 230 may be used to synchronize the Gray-code write pointerinto the read clock domain 120.

In one embodiment, the asynchronous FIFO data structure 100 may provideresilience towards meta-stability situations that may arise, forexample, due to the reception of a read/write pointer from a differentclock domain. Gray codes transmitted via synchronizers may provide theresilience. The synchronization scheme may guarantee that themeta-stability resolution time (e.g., the time taken by the synchronizerregister to come to a valid logic value of 0 or 1 from a meta-stablestate) may be less than the period of the receiving clock. Thus, theremay be a change of only one bit of the pointer that is sent across tothe other domain. If the changing value is not captured by the currentclock edge due to set-up or hold violations, but meta-stability isresolved by the synchronizers, then the changing value may be capturedby the next clock edge of the read clock.

In one embodiment, to design an asynchronous FIFO data structure 100with a depth d in which d is an integer and in which d does not have avalue of 2^(n) and in which n is an integer, a code counter may generatea code having circular properties and having a Hamming distance equal toone for any two consecutive codes. One example of such a code is theGray code. In a Gray-code sequence, any two consecutive codes differonly in the change of one bit position. Furthermore, the Gray-codesequence is closed (i.e., the first code and the last code in thesequence also differ only in the change of one bit position). Accordingto some embodiments of the present invention, an asynchronous FIFO datastructure 100 with a depth d is supported by a Gray-code sequence oflength 2d.

FIG. 2 shows a flow chart illustrating an embodiment of a process thatgenerates a Gray-code sequence of any length 2d according to the presentinvention. In step 240, a Gray-code sequence is generated. The Gray-codesequence may be have a length (e.g., 2^(n)) greater than the desiredlength 2d. In step 250, the Gray-code sequence is reduced, for example,by removing one or more codes and the corresponding mirrored codes. Theremoval of pairs of codes (i.e., a code and its corresponding mirroredcode) may reduce the Gray-code sequence to the desired length 2d. Instep 260, the reduced code may then be used in the asynchronous FIFOdata structure 100. For example, the reduced code of length 2d may beused by the Gray-code generators 130, 190 in generating the Gray-codewrite pointer and the Gray-code Read pointer.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a Gray-code sequence according to thepresent invention. The Gray-code sequence may have a sequence length of16 and each code may include 4-bits. For illustrative purposes, acenterline may be drawn to evenly divide the sequence into a top portionand a bottom portion. The three least significant bits (LSBs) of eachcode of the top portion may be mirrored in the bottom portion withrespect to the centerline. For example, the three LSBs of Gray-code 0100may be mirrored as 1100 with respect to the centerline, the onlydifference being the most significant bit (MSB) of each code in themirrored pair. In another example, the three LSBs of Gray-code 0111 maybe mirrored as 1111 with respect to the centerline.

FIG. 4 shows an embodiment of a method for reducing a Gray-code sequenceaccording to the present invention. The Gray-code sequence may bereduced by removing a middle portion centered on the centerline. Forexample, the middle portion may include three mirrored pairs: 0111 and1111; 0101 and 1101; and 0100 and 1100. With the removal of the middleportion, the original Gray-code sequence may be reduced from a sequencelength of 16 to a sequence length of 10. Even though the sequence hasbeen reduced in length, the sequence may still retain its circularproperties and have a Hamming distance equal to one for any twoconsecutive codes.

FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of a method for reducing a Gray-codesequence according to the present invention. The Gray-code sequence maybe reduced by removing a top portion and a corresponding bottom portion(i.e., a mirrored portion with respect to the center line). For example,the top portion and the bottom portion may include three mirrored pairs:0000 and 1000; 0001 and 1001; and 0011 and 1011. With the removal of themiddle portion, the original Gray-code sequence may be reduced from asequence length of 16 to a sequence length of 10.

FIGS. 6A-B show two more embodiments of a method for reducing aGray-code sequence according to the present invention. The Gray-codesequence may be reduced by removing a middle portion and a top portionwith a corresponding bottom portion. In FIG. 6A, the middle portionincludes a single pair of mirrored codes and the top/bottom portionincludes two pairs of mirrored codes. In FIG. 6B, the middle portionincludes two pairs of mirrored codes and the top/bottom portion includesa single pair of mirrored codes.

FIGS. 4-6 illustrate, for example, that a particular Gray-code sequencemay be reduced a number of different ways to create a number ofdifferent reduced sequences. From a plurality of different reducedsequences, an optimal code sequence may be chosen which optimizes themapping of the transformation function and design of the counters thatare used for the read and write pointers.

Some embodiments according to the present invention may have one or moreof the following advantages. By releasing the restriction that a FIFOdata structure be of depth 2^(n), many inefficiencies may be avoidedsuch as, for example, underused FIFO data structure depth. Furthermore,many of the efficiencies such as excessive FIFO data structure depth maybecome quite substantial as FIFO data structure width or the number ofFIFO data structures increases. In addition, by designing a FIFO datastructure of any depth, many of the fan-out constraints on clock anddata signals may be maintained.

While the present invention has been described with reference to certainembodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatvarious changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted withoutdeparting from the scope of the present invention. In addition, manymodifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material tothe teachings of the present invention without departing from its scope.Therefore, it is intended that the present invention not be limited tothe particular embodiments disclosed, but that the present inventionwill include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appendedclaims.

1. An asynchronous first-in-first-out (FIFO) data structure, comprising:a FIFO memory having a depth d in which d is an integer; and a codegenerator coupled to the FIFO memory and providing a first code sequenceof length 2d, the first code sequence having a circular property and aHamming length of one for any two consecutive codes of the first codesequence, the first code sequence being generated from a second codesequence by removing one or more pairs of mirrored codes of the secondcode sequence.
 2. The data structure according to claim 1, wherein thesecond code sequence has the circular property and the Hamming length ofone for any two consecutive codes of the second code sequence.
 3. Thedata structure according to claim 1, wherein the first code sequence isa Gray-code sequence.
 4. The data structure according to claim 1,wherein the second code sequence is a Gray-code sequence.
 5. The datastructure according to claim 1, wherein the code generator is coupled toa write pointer which, in turn, is coupled to the FIFO memory.
 6. Thedata structure according to claim 5, wherein the write pointer iscoupled to the FIFO memory via at least one of a converter and a look-uptable.
 7. The data structure according to claim 6, wherein the convertercomprises a Gray-to-binary converter.
 8. The data structure according toclaim 1, wherein the code generator is coupled to a read pointer which,in turn, is coupled to the FIFO memory.
 9. The data structure accordingto claim 8, wherein the read pointer is coupled to the FIFO memory via aGray-to-binary converter.
 10. The data structure according to claim 1,wherein the code generator is coupled to a read pointer which, in turn,is coupled to a storage device.
 11. The data structure according toclaim 10, wherein the storage device comprises a bank of registers. 12.The data structure according to claim 1, wherein the FIFO memorycomprises a write data input port and a read data output port.
 13. Thedata structure according to claim 1, wherein the FIFO memory comprises awrite pointer input and a read point input.
 14. The data structureaccording to claim 1, wherein the asynchronous FIFO data structurecomprises a write clock domain and a read clock domain.
 15. The datastructure according to claim 14, wherein the write clock domaincomprises a write clock, wherein the read clock domain comprises a readclock, and wherein the read clock and the write clock are asynchronous.16. A method for designing an asynchronous data structure, comprising:writing data to and reading data from a memory of depth d in which d isnot equal to a value 2^(n) and in which d and n are integers; reducing afirst Gray-code sequence of length 2^(n) into a second Gray-codesequence of length 2d by removing one or more pairs of mirroredGray-codes from the first Gray-code sequence; and using Gray codes ofthe second Gray-code sequence as Gray-code write pointers or Gray-coderead pointers.
 17. The method according to claim 16, wherein the writingand the reading are asynchronous operations.
 18. The method according toclaim 16, wherein the writing and the reading are part of afirst-in-first-out (FIFO) process.
 19. The method according to claim 16,wherein the asynchronous data structure comprises a FIFO data structure.20. A method for reducing a Gray-code sequence for use with a datastructure of arbitrary depth, comprising: listing a plurality of codesin a first Gray-code sequence; deleting one or more first codes from thefirst Gray-code sequence; deleting one or more second codes from thefirst Gray-code sequence, each second code having identical bits as acorresponding first code except for a most significant bit; and forminga second Gray-code sequence from remaining codes of the first Gray-codesequence.
 21. The method according to claim 20, wherein the datastructure comprises an asynchronous data structure.
 22. The methodaccording to claim 21, wherein the asynchronous data structure comprisesan asynchronous first-in-first-out (FIFO) data structure.
 23. A methodfor designing an asynchronous data structure, comprising: writing datato and reading data from a memory of depth d in which d is not equal toa value 2^(n) and in which d and n are integers; reducing a first codesequence of length 2^(n) into a second code sequence of length 2d byremoving one or more pairs of mirrored codes from the first codesequence; and using codes of the second code sequence as code writepointers or code read pointers.
 24. The method according to claim 23,wherein at least one of the first code sequence and the second codesequence has at least one of a closed property and a Hamming distance ofone.
 25. A method for reducing a code sequence for use with a datastructure of arbitrary depth, comprising: listing a plurality of codesin a first code sequence; deleting one or more first codes from thefirst code sequence; deleting one or more second codes from the firstcode sequence, each second code having identical bits as a correspondingfirst code except for a most significant bit; and forming a second codesequence from remaining codes of the first code sequence.
 26. The methodaccording to claim 25, wherein at least one of the first code sequenceand the second code sequence has at least one of a closed property and aHamming distance of one.